First Sunday in Lent A; 02.22.26; G Miles Smith+ (Jesus and Evil)
Updated: Jul 30
Matthew 4:1-11 Jesus and Evil 1st Sunday in Lent A; 02.22.26; G. Miles Smith+
It has been almost 4 years ago now that I spent a month in Iceland on sabbatical with Jennifer. It was an incredible opportunity made possible by a Lilly Foundation grant and your willingness to let me be away. One of the unforeseen consequences of that trip, since up to 55% of Icelanders still think about the possibility of the existence of fairies, is that I have engaged intermittently in studying the history and lore of supernatural beings worldwide.
And let me tell you, it is vast…both stories within the Church and stories beyond…in every culture across the world…such that I feel that I am still only skimming the surface. And matters of supernatural beings definitely are not confined to Iceland in the present…despite the centuries-long effects of the European Enlightenment (including Thomas Jefferson of course) and the rising tide of science and technology. In fact, there is a division of UVA (The Division of Perceptual Studies) which gathers and analyzes a continuing flow of case studies of—not supernatural beings per se--but other kinds of phenomena experienced by human beings inexplicable in physicalist/materialist terms as we are accustomed to these days.
I bring this up today because we have such a phenomenon named in the Gospel reading. As it turns out, it is the only appearance in the Bible…of what is called “the devil”. And it happens to Jesus. A supernatural being appears to Jesus just shortly after Jesus’ baptism…when Jesus had gone away to be by himself in the wilderness of Judea. As becomes clear, Jesus was in the process there of discerning the beginning of his public ministry—what Jesus believed he was called to say…and to do…and to be.
The gospel reading does not give us any introduction to the devil. It just assumes we know what this is. Even the other scattered references to the devil, “satan”, and “demons”, never explains them…which of course led to all kinds of efforts within Christian history to explain them. All we are given to know in Jesus’ encounter with the devil…is that the devil was very well versed in scripture…and the devil was attempting to misdirect Jesus’ discernment of his ministry—effectively trying to lead Jesus to become untrue to himself. But Jesus responded with clarity to the three temptations of the devil…which apparently took some considerable energy…for as the King James Version describes it: “Then the devil leaveth Jesus, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.”
So, I have read enough of the lore of such supernatural beings as this, both within and beyond the Bible, to be able to say that it is extremely vast…and extremely murky. It is very hard to know what to do with it all. But I can also say that because it is so vast…I think there is definitely something going on. The Church’s thinking has ranged from being obsessed about the devil…to being almost entirely silent. And I can also tell you—and this is important--that whenever the Church has been obsessed about the devil…that the Church itself has ended up doing some of the most evil things to people…even other Christians. But then, there is a different kind of danger…when the Church cannot manage to speak of evil at all.
So before I try to say a few words about speaking about evil…then I need to say something very important that rarely ever gets said among Christians when they can easily speak of the devil. There is a reason why the devil is never named in the Creeds. Because the creeds…by using the word “credo” in Latin…means, as I understand it: “I give my heart to.” “Beliefs” then are what we have been taught to give our heart to. And so, strictly speaking, Christians do not believe in the devil or such spiritual adversaries. But we can try to think about them because the Bible speaks of it. But even then, there is also a sense—based on some classical Christian understandings of evil—that evil is also fundamentally unintelligible…since it is a complete falsehood…and distortion of God’s good creation. God did not create evil. And yet evil exists. Evil is somehow a temporarily existing non-existence. Yes, this is the kind of paradoxical Christian thinking that we can get into. But this also explains why Jesus never explained…neither evil nor sin…neither suffering nor loss. And, as we have experienced: every time we try to explain evil or suffering…it is never enough, it is unsatisfying, perhaps annoying, if not offensive. (see [1] below)
But having said all that…this existing non-existence of the devil…appeared to Jesus. And from the witness of the New Testament: the primary work of the devil is to thwart anything that in any way resembles the work of Jesus in the world.
Anytime anyone anywhere—within the Church and beyond—even remotely comes close to having a vision of being beloved by God…and accountable to truth-telling…and accountable to loving their neighbor as themselves…then there is an immediate counter-pressure...to twist it into something else…or to abandon it. The most common way this shows up pretty quickly is when Christians respond to Jesus’ teachings by thinking: “Well, that’s lovely…but it isn’t very practical.” And that’s the nice version of the abandonment of Jesus’ way. The less-nice version that happens among Christians is to twist Jesus’ teachings so that they become something else instead, like: “Well, some of us are beloved of God, but others definitely are not…and lying is ok when it serves a greater purpose…and we get to decide who our neighbors are whom we are supposed to love.” You get the idea.
So where am I going with this? Well, I likely wouldn’t even be bringing all this up if the scripture today wasn’t so unavoidable. Who wants to talk about this kind of thing?! And I certainly am not making a case for why you should “believe” in the devil…given what that actually means. And I would never call another human being a “devil” because that is completely a contradiction of Jesus’ teaching. But I would commend to you the clarity of what the apostle Paul said about what we are up against:
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12)
We are not dealing just with people’s psychological issues…sociological dynamics…market forces…and it is not just a matter of politics. I do think that to take Jesus seriously means recognizing that there is an existing non-existence…an invisible force that specifically tries to undo anything remotely like Jesus…that insinuates itself anywhere it can…and its effects are viscerally destructive…and everywhere to be seen. It is evil.
And the remedy is not “witch hunts”…of any kind. The only effective recourse is…according to Jesus’ encounter with the devil…to know scripture better than the devil. However, that pretty much means Episcopalians are screwed! :) But, fortunately, we have another formidable resource readily at hand…which we may tend to not take as seriously as we should: The Book of Common Prayer. The prayer book is a compendium of scripture references…arranged in such a manner…that we can pray scripture…alone…and together. What evil twists…the prayer book twists back…toward Jesus. The prayer book keeps reorienting us toward the mind of Christ…and not the void of evil. That is actually one of the reasons why…we can leave church…and have a sensation of our hearts having been lifted up…and it wasn’t just because of Coffee Hour (God bless Coffee Hour!)…but because we have done this common prayer together…even when we don’t understand everything. There is more going on here than what we can manage to bring to it.
And once we can recognize what it feels like for the Holy Spirit to turn back evil from our minds and hearts and spirits…with our common prayer…then…interesting enough…we can recognize that the Holy Spirit can do that in many other ways…especially when we bring our intention to it…even ways that are not directly associated with things religious. And I mention this kind of thing over and over again in my homilies, I know…but it is worth saying again…because we need all the help we can get: there can be a power of God that comes to us through…music…nature…our pets…our loves…beauty in the arts…service toward others…simple kindnesses…good friendships…an evening fire…so many things within our easy reach…when we can see them for what they can be…as the good gifts of God.
There is an abundance of resources at hand…that are not really optional…if we are going to have any chance of resisting…the steady undoing…and destruction…of the goodness of Jesus…and his teachings…and his work. That is the conclusion that is most important to say. And as Jesus himself said in the Gospel of John (14:18):
"I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you."
[1] Karl Barth was a famous Swiss Protestant theologian in the era of World War II who worked his whole life on a recovery of Christian teaching that was faithful to Jesus…confident and joyous…and resistant to Nazi Germany…or any other ways that the Church could get absorbed into political movements and lose its distinctive calling. Barth wrote over 12,000 pages. I have volumes and volumes of his writings that I have found myself returning to over and over throughout my ministry. At a time then (and now) when hardly any theologians had anything to say about angels, Barth wrote over 150 pages on that. And yet, curiously, at a time then (and now) when many churches were obsessed with demons, he famously wrote: "I love angels, but have no taste for demons...because they are not worth it" (CD III/3, xii). However--he had a very clear sense of evil which he called "The Lordless Powers.” And he had had a very up close and personal experience of it when the Nazis forced him to flee his university teaching position in Germany for fear of his life and return to Switzerland. All Barth had tried to do in all his writing and teaching was to lift up Jesus as best he could—and not allow Jesus to be distorted by the movements of his day, including the Nazi’s very successful effort to absorb the Church in Germany and to quiet Christian conscience.
